Technology and the Ethical Imagination

February 06, 2017 01:36 PM Eastern Standard Time

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A collaboration between the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa
Clara University and The Tech Museum of Innovation kicks off February 11
at 11 a.m. at The Tech with an installation exploring ethics in
biodesign and a talk at 12:00 p.m. by author and biomedical
gerontologist Aubrey de Grey. De Grey will address the question, “Can We
Use Technology to Live Forever—and Should We?” with a response from
Brian Green, who teaches engineering ethics at SCU. Center Executive
Director Kirk Hanson and Tech President and CEO Tim Ritchie will detail
the elements of the partnership, called “Technology and the Ethical
Imagination.”

The partnership helps people identify and respond to the ethical
questions presented by technology. “Our community – Silicon Valley –
needs forums for steering straight into the ethical dilemmas created by
the technologies this region develops,” says Ritchie. “This unique
partnership allows us to create a space for probing conversations about
how technology can support the common good,” adds Center Executive
Director Kirk O. Hanson.

The program launch focuses on The Tech’s BioDesign Studio, an exhibit
where visitors explore the intersection between technology and biology.
It introduces visitors to the fundamentals of living systems, engaging
them in hands-on experiences that encourage them to explore, tinker and
design with biology. They also engage ethical issues as they work with
real biological materials and tools in a pioneering public makerspace
for biology.

Museum visitors will also have an opportunity to help create an
installation on ethical issues. The String Project allows visitors to
weave colored threads around their answers to questions such as “Who
should be able to tinker with biology?” and “Would you agree to wiping
out all disease-causing mosquitoes?” The resulting artwork will hang in
the BioDesign Studio.

In addition, classes visiting The Tech on field trips can participate in
hands-on experiences related to the exhibit. Curricular materials and
further reading explore both the scientific and ethical issues in
biodesign.

This combination of activities—installations, events, and curricular
materials—will continue to characterize Ethics Center-Tech partnership.
The Center has also developed educational resources on ethics in
cybersecurity and in artificial intelligence, which are available on the The
Ethics Center website as well as The
Tech.

Long term, the two organizations are beginning plans for an ethics
component in the museum’s next major exhibit, on technology and the
environment. The Ethics Center will also train Tech volunteers on how to
talk with visitors about the ethical dilemmas that may arise out of new
technologies.

This project is made possible through the generous support of Charmaine
and Dan Warmenhoven.